The Lively Lady, Holborn Circus 1968

A 1960s colour photo of Sir Alec Rose’s yacht, Lively Lady, on display at Holborn Circus in London during 1968. The 36-foot cutter-rigged vessel, built in 1948 from padauk and teak, is mounted on a large pedestal to celebrate Rose’s single-handed circumnavigation of the globe. A large blue promotional stand for the Daily Mirror, who sponsored the voyage, attracts crowds of pedestrians in mid-century attire. The surrounding scene features the commercial architecture of Holborn, including the National Provincial Bank, with a green Morris Minor and other vintage traffic navigating the intersection.

Today, Holborn Circus remains a major City of London junction, though the Lively Lady was only a temporary fixture before returning to Portsmouth. Sir Alec Rose’s historic journey took 354 days, following the “Clipper Route” with only two stops in Melbourne and South Africa. While many buildings seen here remain, the area was redesigned in 2014 to improve pedestrian safety. The yacht itself still survives today; after serving as a training vessel for many years, it underwent a major restoration in the mid-2010s to ensure its continued seaworthiness.